Professor Ashok Goel, who led the online course, told The Wall Street Journal that Jill was designed to help burdened TAs field an onslaught of questions from the 300-person class. While students seemed to be more amused than outraged by the revelation, some say it sets a bad precedent.

AI exists in a vast ethical gray area, as we grapple to understand the implications of this rapidly evolving technology. Transparency will likely become a lightning rod as machines begin to mimic human personalities with more and more accuracy.

“I believe that robots will become people,” he said. “I believe that in time they will develop the complete capability of a human, to understand us, to have general intelligence and the willful desire to grow and reach their potential the way that humans experience it.”

Still, Etzioni says, “We have an obligation to figure out how to help people cope with the rapidly changing nature of technology.”

Monica Nickelsburg is GeekWire’s Civic Editor, covering technology-driven solutions to urban challenges and the intersection of tech and politics. Before joining GeekWire, she worked for The Week, Forbes, and NBC. Monica holds a BA in journalism and history from New York University. Follow her @mnickelsburg